Google Pulls Plug on Health, PowerMeter

“Both were based on the idea that with more and better information, people can make smarter choices, whether in regard to managing personal health and wellness, or saving money and conserving energy at home. While they didn’t scale as we had hoped, we believe they did highlight the importance of access to information in areas where it’s traditionally been difficult,” the company says.

Google Health was designed to “organize, track, monitor, and act on” health info. It was introduced in 2006. I’m not sure how many people were using it, but it was nice of Google to let people add the details about their personal health, and then shut down the service so they can no longer use it.

Users will still be able to download their data through January 1, 2013, a year after the service is retired. Google says in the FAQ that it will delete user data after January 2, 2013. How long after isn’t specified, but they give you plenty of info about how to get your data off of Google Health.

Google announced PowerMeter in early 2009. It was launched as a Google.org (Google’s philanthropic arm) project aimed at “raising awareness about the importance of giving people access to data surrounding their energy usage.”

“Since our launch, there’s been more attention given to this notion of people easily accessing their energy data,” says Google. “The installation of smart meters and other home energy devices is picking up steam, and states like California and Texas are moving forward to finalize policies and programs in this area.”

“We’re pleased that PowerMeter has helped demonstrate the importance of this access and created something of a model,” the company adds. “However, our efforts have not scaled as quickly as we would like, so we are retiring the service.”

Again, Google says it is making it easy to download your data. You can do so by logging into your account and going to “Account Settings,” where you can export to a CSV file.